Instead of meeting in-person tonight, July 29, the Benton County Planning Commission will meet virtually to formally adopt their decision and findings on the Republic Services application to expand the Coffin Butte Landfill. Spoiler-alert: There’s already been a vote to deny the application, tonight’s meeting is about formalizing that decision.
The start time will be 6 pm. Click here to view it on Zoom.
What to expect if you attend
The Planning Commission has already voted unanimously to deny Republic’s application. That was back on July 22. Since then, the County has worked on writing a decision that details the facts and findings on which the denial is based. The Commission is expected to approve that document tonight, making the decision final.
It’s anticipated that the meeting will be short and to the point, which is part of the rationale for moving it online.
How we got here
The Planning Commission met on July 22 for deliberations. Following nearly four hours of opening statements and discussion, the seven participating Commission members voted.
But that wasn’t the only hearing. There have been ongoing hearings since April. In total, the Planning Commission has heard more than 20 hours of presentations and verbal testimony by Benton County Planning Division staff, consultants, the applicant and community members. The Commission also received and reviewed thousands of pages of application materials, reports, exhibits and written public testimony and evidence.
Which brings us to the other rationale for a virtual meeting tonight: Making the best use of the commissioner’s time and County resources. There is only the one item on tonight’s agenda, and hey, all of these commissioners, they are volunteers from the community.
What’s next
Once the decision on the application is final, all parties have 14 days to file an appeal.
That would mean an appeal deadline of 5 pm, close of business, on Tuesday, August 12.
Appellants are charged the full cost to the County of the appeal, starting with a $5,000 deposit due when the appeal is filed. Appeals are heard by the Benton County Board of Commissioners.
Will Republic appeal? We’ll keep you posted.
For more information
The video recording of the July 22 Planning Commission meeting can be found on YouTube. If you really want, you can view the application, and all the exhibits, reports, written testimony and other documents related to this last Republic application to expand the landfill on the Munidocs platform.
Those who wish to watch the virtual proceedings in a County supplied location can go to the Kalapuya Building at 4500 SW Research Way in Corvallis.
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